Election from ABy DAVID McLELLAN
For the Athol Daily News
NEW SALEM — Next year’s budget, a marijuana moratorium, state flag resolution and new police cruiser are all up for discussion at this year’s annual town meeting.
These are among the topics of the 42 articles to be voted on at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Town Hall.
Topping the warrant is the coming year’s budget, which is $2,952,699, an increase of $103,921 from this year’s budget.
The brunt of the proposed budget — and largely the reason for the increase — will go toward education. More than half of the budget, $1,792,593, is for three schools.
New Salem’s assessment for the Swift River School, which it funds with neighboring Wendell, is $876,342. For the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School, it pays $667,722, and for the Franklin County Technical School, $41,091.
Just over $200,000 of the education portion of the budget is for transportation to and from the schools.
New Salem’s assessments for the schools are based on municipal agreements with other local towns. For example, Mahar is funded also by Orange, Wendell and Petersham, with Orange paying more than the rest. Therefore, the line items for education on the proposed budget are more or less nonnegotiable.
Increased town assessments for the schools, especially at Mahar, have been driven by increasing health care and special education costs, plus contractual salary increases.
More time to study pot
One article asks for a temporary moratorium on recreational marijuana establishments in New Salem. The article states that the Cannabis Control Commission has yet to issue regulations regarding recreational, commercial marijuana establishments, and that the town needs sufficient time to “study and address the potential effects of such uses in the town.”
“The moratorium shall be in effect through December 31st, 2018 or until the date when the Town adopts a Zoning Bylaw amendment that regulates Recreational Marijuana Establishments, whichever occurs earlier,” the article states.
State flag, seal
New Salem is among four county towns voting on a “resolution in support of changing the state flag and seal of Massachusetts.”
The resolution would support the bill introduced by State Representative Byron Rushing, D-Suffolk, asking for a special commission to investigate and recommend changes to the state flag and seal, which depict a Native American man holding a bow against a blue background.
The article outlines instances of mistreatment to Native Americans by colonists throughout the years, and states “Native Americans have long suffered the many abuses of racism” as justification for changing the flag. The resolution was recently adopted by Wendell and is still to be voted on by Gill and Orange.
New police cruiser
Most measures on the Town Meeting warrant have to do with transferring money between different accounts. For example, one article asks for $50,000 to go into the Vehicle Stabilization Fund. Then, another asks for $46,000 from the Vehicle Stabilization Fund to pay for a new police cruiser.